Based on 'The Story Of Lord Bahubali' and 'The Great Head Bathing
Ceremony', by Duli Chandra Jain, Jain Study Circular, April 1981, and
'Story of Bahubali And Bharat' by Kushal Jain, Jain Study Circular,
July 1982.

According to the Jain literature, Bharat and Bahubali were two of
the sons of Bhagwaan Rishabh Dev, the first TEERTHANKAR of this
epoch. When Bhagwaan Rishabh Dev renounced his kingdom, he gave a
portion of it to each one of his sons. Bharat and Bahubali also
received their shares.

A few years later, Bharat decided to become the supreme ruler of
the world (CHAKRAVARTI). He demanded that all other kings should
accept his supremacy. All the kings, including his brothers except
Bahubali conceded. However, Bahubali challenged Bharat. The armies
of Bharat and Bahubali faced each other, ready to fight. The
ministers of Bharat and Bahubali were worried about the bloodshed.
Therefore, they counseled that the two brothers should engage in
hand-to-hand combat to determine the winner. Bahubali and Bharat
agreed.

The first round was a water-duel between Bharat and Bahubali.
They stood in the knee-deep water of a river and sprayed each other
with water. Bahubali won the round. The next round was a
sight-duel. The two brothers stood in the sun, staring at each
other. The one who blinked first was to lose the round. Again,
Bharat lost. The final round was wrestling. A huge crowd had
gathered. The supporters of each were cheering. In the course of
the duel, Bahubali picked up Bharat. Carrying Bharat above his head,
he whirled him in air as he paced the ring. Bahubali's supporters
were very happy and excited. Bahubali was close to becoming the
supreme ruler of the world. At that moment, he thought that he was
about to hurt and humiliate his own brother for the sake of name and
fame. He contemplated, "Such pride is false. What good is being a
king or a supreme ruler of the world? Such desires are endless.
Fulfillment of such desires cannot lead to peace of mind." He gently
put Bharat down on his feet. He renounced his kingdom, and, started
on the path to true happiness and peace of mind.

Bahubali spent many years in meditation and penance. According to
legend, he stood meditating for such a long time that anthills
formed on the ground where he stood, snakes lay coiled at is feet,
and creepers grew around them. But he did not attain omniscience
(KEVAL JNAAN) because he had one straining conceit (SHALYA) in his
mind. He was thinking that he was standing on the ground owned by
his brother Bharat. For this reason, he could not shed the
knowledge-obscuring, perception-obscuring, deluding and obstructing
karmas that influence the soul. When Bharat came and consoled him,
his mental strain vanished and he attained omniscience and
NIRVANA.

Bhagwaan Bahubali was a great soul and his story enlightens our
lives. Chamundrai, the prime minister of King Rachmalla II of Ganga
dynasty, built a colossal statue of Bhagwaan Bahubali. It was
consecrated under the guidance of the great Acharya Nemi Chandra
Siddhant Chakravarti in 981 A.D. Chamundrai was also called Gommat
and therefore the statue is called Gommateshwar. Chamundrai was a
staunch follower of Acharya Nemi Chandra Siddhant Chakravarti. The
two scriptural texts composed by Acharya Nemi Chandra Siddhant
Chakravarti are entitled 'GOMMATASAAR JEEVAKAND' and 'GOMMATASAAR
KARMAKAND'.

The colossal statue of Gommateshwar stands 58 ft 8 in on the hill
Vindhyagiri at Shravanabelgola near Mysore. It is the tallest known
monolithic statue in the world carved out of a single huge granite
boulder. In fact, the statue is part of the hill, sculpted by
removing portions of the hilltop. The statue includes creepers,
coiled snakes and anthills. The celebrated scholar, Kaka Kalelkar,
describing the fact that it is nude, observed that the sculptors
could easily extend the creepers to cover the nudity, but it would
not have done justice to what Bhagwaan Bahubali represented. Every
twelve to fourteen years, the Great Head Bathing Ceremony (MAHA
MASTAKAABHISHEK) of the statue is celebrated. The 1000th anniversary
of the statue was observed between February 19 and 24, 1981, and the
Great Head Bathing Ceremony was performed. In the March 16, 1981
issue of the TIME Magazine, the correspondent rightly observed, "The
Great Head Bathing brings no absolution from sin. It propitiates no
gods. ... Most important it does not help remove the oppressive
cumulative weight of individual misdeeds known ... [as]
KARMA. ... While the Hindus offered ritual, meditation and devotion
to gods, the other two religions (Jainism and Buddhism) taught that
KARMA and reincarnation could be escaped through the willed
elimination of ego and desire."